Bath Presbyterian (Richmond County, Ga.)

The roots of Bath Presbyterian began with the wealthy planter class from Burke County who began coming to Bath to escape the deadly heat and malaria filled summers at home. They found comfort in the pure mineral springs of Bath. According to church history, the visits became longer and longer until a permanent community emerged in the late 18th century. The residents were predominantly Scots-English Presbyterians and they went through the usual progression of meeting in homes to a log structure and finally to the fine sanctuary you see here built in 1836 by John Trowbridge. As Bath began to grow as a community, the preferred builder of the fine colonial style homes was John Trowbridge, who had migrated into the area from Massachusetts. He was a skilled builder and very pleased with the southern lifestyle and business opportunities that were emerging. Soon, two of his brothers joined him in the trade. Thus began a long relationship between Bath Presbyterian and The Trowbridge family. Bath Presbyterian was off to a grand start and prospered well but suffered along with the rest of the south as the Civil War spread over the south. According to church history, Union soldiers "tried to remove the pulpit from the church but to no avail for their effort" since the pulpit extended through the floor and into the ground underneath. Thus "instead of the pulpit, they carried off the silver communion and baptismal wares."